Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, stars on Eisner Award-winning artist Jen Bartel's variant cover for the 2022 edition of Marvel's Voices: Pride.
Black Cat is a natural pick to receive a Pride variant, as the fan-favorite cat burglar is canonically bisexual. While Felicia Hardy is perhaps best known for her on-again, off-again romance with Peter Parker/Spider-Man, writer Jed MacKay's back-to-back runs on Black Cat have delved into Felicia's romantic history (and rivalry) with Odessa Drake, leader of the Thieves Guild. As such, Bartel's Pride variant finds Black Cat caught between her two lovers.
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"Marvel Comics is proud to celebrate Pride Month this year with another giant-sized one-shot showcasing some of comics' most iconic LGBTQI+ heroes in an incredible range of stories by LGBTQI+ superstars and emerging talent!" Marvel said.
Serving as a follow-up to the 2021 one-shot of the same name, this year's Marvel's Voices: Pride #1 is due to arrive in comic shops on Wednesday, June 15. A number of creators have already been announced for the comic, including writers Charlie Jane Anders, Christopher Cantwell, Andrew Wheeler, Alyssa Wong, Grace Freud, Ira Madison III and Danny Lore, as well as artists Brittney Williams, Stephen Byrne and Scott B. Henderson. The comic features a main cover by Nick Robles and an additional variant by Byrne.
Meanwhile, MacKay isn't done with Felicia Hardy just yet. The writer has teamed with artist Pere Pérez for Iron Cat, a five-part series set to release its first issue on Wednesday, June 8 -- one week before Marvel's Voices: Pride hits shelves. "Also launching during Pride Month, the all-new limited series will see Black Cat teaming up with Iron Man to discover who is wielding the Iron Cat armor and what their plans for Felicia are," Marvel explained. "Find out the identity of IRON CAT in this exciting new chapter for one of Marvel's leading heroines! Wait, do you think it's ODESSA in that armor?"
"It's a rare pleasure to have a second chance to pick up a story that you thought lost, and I'm really excited for people to rejoin Pere and I on another Black Cat adventure!" MacKay said when Iron Cat was first announced. "Felicia and Tony's worlds are pretty much opposite, so you can imagine how crazy things can get if you make those two work together. Can't wait to show everybody what we are cooking," Pérez added.
Marvel's Voices: Pride #1 (2022) goes on sale June 15 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel Comics